The Interview Editors
Growth in the telecommunication industry in the first two quarters of 2019, has led to an increase in the sector’s share of contribution to Nigeria’s GDP, according to data made available by the Nigerian Communication Commission.
The growth is an indication that the effective regulatory role of the NCC is paying off.
This is despite the many challenges confronting the sector. And according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), telecommunication continues to be a major contributor to the nation’s economy.
Telecom’s contribution to national gross domestic product (GDP) for the 1st Quarter and 2nd Quarter of 2019 stood at 10.11 per cent and 11.39 per cent respectively.
These contrast with 9.19 per cent and 10.43 per cent contribution in the 1st Quarter and 2nd Quarter of 2018 respectively.
Broadly speaking, general Information and Communication Technology (ICT) contribution to GDP has increased to 13.8 percent currently.
Available data show growth in all aspects of the telecommunication value chain, from voice to Internet users.
Active mobile voice subscribers increased from 174,012,136 in January, 2019 to 180,386,316 at the end of October, 2019 (which is the latest data in the industry, as posted on the NCC official website).
Teledensity has also increased to 94.50 per cent while internet subscribers increased from 114,306,598 to 123,559,596 during the period under review.
